This article looks at how to monitor trends among women who are active in business and how to understand the way they work and what drives them. Regular data on self-employment for both women and men is available from the Labour Force Survey and this is often used as a proxy for business ownership. The number of women who are self-employed has grown in recent years, but much of the growth is in women working part-time and focusing on more flexible working patterns to fit into domestic commitments.